1999 Annual General Meeting

A beautiful Florida morning in January brought out a large number of faithful Canadian Snowbird Association members to the seventh Annual General Meeting, which was held on the second day of the Snowbird Extravaganza, January 23, 1999 in Tampa, Florida.

Bob Jackson, CSA president, welcomed everyone to the Annual General Meeting, and introduced Jules Goyette, the director from Quebec who gave a brief welcome in French.

President Bob Jackson, Paul Jenkins on behalf of the Government Relations Committee, Alex Scott, Treasurer and Carol Robertson, Executive Director of the Association delivered reports to the members. Mark Simone provided an overview of the Extravaganzas and Winter Information Meetings while Wallace Weylie gave an update on cross-border issues and the proposed U.S. Retiree Visa.

After the regular business and reports were completed, Ross Quigley, CEO of Medipac International gave an overview of the past year's insurance market and indicated that studies were already in progress for next year's programs.

He promised to further strengthen Medipac's medical assistance teams and to increase hospital and doctor commitment to the CSA programs.

Special guest speaker, the Honourable Cam Jackson further explained the residency, drug and voting announcements made by Premier Mike Harris of Ontario the previous day. The question period was invigorating, with some timely questions on a range of topics, and very positive comments about the work of CSA.

In his closing remarks, President Bob Jackson recapped some of the provincial changes that have been achieved through CSA's lobbying efforts. He pledged that the organization will continue to maintain a strong Board of Directors, responsive to members' needs, and thanked all members who had displayed their interest by coming to the meeting or submitting proxies.

After the meeting, members were free to relax and listen to the wonderful entertainment presented for their pleasure and wander through the myriad displays at Extravaganza's sponsor booths, exhibits and seminars.